This gathering encompasses the top picks for books published in 2008, specifically detailing various aspects of the field of cryptozoology (the study of unknown, hidden, and as yet to be verified animals).

In general, it was a thin year for new and original titles and a good twelve months for reprints of classic books. With the exception of the rare notables, 2008 was a disappointment in terms of innovative book-length analyses of individual cryptids (the animals that are the focus of cryptozoology).

The present state of instant publishing, sadly, has resulted in so-called cryptozoology books being printed that contain passages like this one: “Some of the more famous cryptids include the following: Bigfoot, Sasquatch, The Yetti [sic], The Yowie, The Lock [sic] Ness Monster (‘Nessie’).”

Unfortunately, without good editors, more books like that unnamed example may start popping up in the future. But those won’t be mentioned on my lists and hopefully they will fade away. Readers do the final weeding out, and these suggestions are merely my gleaming of the finer tomes that have made it to my reading lamp.

Therefore, here listed are my top choices, from the copies of credible books sent or purchased for review. Please note, each book is acknowledged and noted for a speciality unto itself.

My congratulations to the hard-working researchers and authors who compiled these winners.

Books not received cannot be read, reviewed, and referred for a spot on the annual lists. Please forward copies of your books to the address below. Separate cryptofiction and children’s book listings may be forthcoming, if more submissions appear to warrant a fuller selection process.

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About Loren ColemanLoren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

That is a nice picture of a wendigo but I don’t like the looks of those monster books. Too boring. I know I can’t make monsters to be what I want them to be but the monsters on Earth are boring and nasty. You don’t have a chance against the wendigo with your wits and sword, he’s gonna pulverize you. I have a few monster compendiums that I like but they aren’t like the ones listed here. I think the problem is that Earth monsters are too ethereal and demon-like, not physical enough. Maybe they are afraid of making a physical presence because they are afraid of how wily and tough and good people really are so they have to stick to the shadows. Maybe they know they would be in for the real battle then. They are cowards I guess.